As countries grapple with baby blues, what does a shrinking population mean?
CNA
From lonely deaths among the elderly to shrinking armies, falling birthrates are reshaping societies beyond the economic sphere.
In Japan, over 76,000 people living alone were found dead in 2024, with about three in four such cases involving those aged 65 or older. And this "lonely death" crisis is set to worsen as the number of elderly living alone is expected to reach 10.8 million by 2050.
Across the ocean in Italy, expenditure from both public and private pensions is the highest in the world in terms of the proportion of the nation's gross domestic product (GDP) – standing at 16.6 per cent. Like in Japan, such spending is expected to only grow as Italy’s population shrinks and ages.
Meanwhile in South Korea, the country with the world’s lowest birth rate, its military has shrunk by about 20 per cent in the last six years. In terms of raw figures, it is 50,000 troops short of the number deemed adequate for maintaining defence readiness, said its defence ministry last year.
These are some of the grim outcomes in countries where the populations are shrinking.
One passenger paid just over US$30,000 for a one-way flight for two people and four cats from Singapore to Hong Kong.
The 59-year-old will also be charged with defamation and attempting to promote ill will between racial groups.
Police were alerted to a fight involving the two men along Lorong 16 Geylang at about 8.15am on Monday.
Unrelated trades are not allowed at these spaces as they are meant as an extension of the existing shops’ operations.
As a small and open economy, Singapore is exposed to global energy price shocks, analysts said.
A second repatriation flight from Saudi Arabia is being planned for Mar 12.
From a high of RM3.55 to RM3.10 against the Singapore dollar, the ringgit's rally has been swift – and analysts say it may not be done.
Man behind Quran-stepping video likely convicted for similar acts, may be mentally unwell: Shanmugam
The man is overseas now and the police will interview him when he returns, Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam says.
Youths are getting radicalised faster and subscribing to a more diverse range of extremist ideologies, the Internal Security Department said.
More than 150 Singaporeans and their dependents touched down on Saturday night (Mar 7) on the first repatriation flight from Muscat, Oman.
The flight is expected to take place between Mar 10 and Mar 12.
University enrolment in Singapore has always closely followed the country's economic priorities, but rapid technological change and an increasingly complex economic landscape have made admissions planning more challenging.
Leader of the House Indranee Rajah defended the government's larger-than-expected budget surplus, saying Singapore's standing as a "beacon of safety" is not by accident.